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IAA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (IAA-JSS) 9(2):15-20, 2023. ISSN: 2636-7289
©IAAJOURNAL
https://doi.org/10.59298/IAAJSS/2023/1.3.11000

An Evaluation of How Parenting Practices Affect One's Self-Esteem

Abubakar Tijjani T.

Department of Mass Communication, Kampala International University Uganda

ABSTRACT
Research has shown that parenting styles significantly impact children's and adolescents'
development, as the family is the primary socializing agency. Self-esteem, a self-
assessment of one's self-worth, has been extensively researched and linked to the mental,
psychological, and emotional development of children. There is no universally best
parenting style, as culture and individual characteristics differ. In Western cultures, self-
esteem is consistently negatively correlated with parenting styles characterized by low
acceptance and high protectiveness. Variations exist in which parenting styles lead to the
highest levels of self-esteem. This paper reviews the impact of parenting style on self-
esteem.
Keywords: Impact, Children, Parenting Style, Self Esteems

INTRODUCTION
It indicates that parenting practices have
a direct impact on children's and
teenagers' growth and development,
including their educational progress and
general health and wellbeing. By treating
children's emotional, behavioral, and
psychological issues, parenting style
appears to have an influence on how well
children learn. Self-esteem also appears to
be an important contribution to children's
and teenagers' learning success. The
responsibility of caring for and raising
children requires devotion and
enthusiasm. It is the culmination of a
number of distinct individual and group
actions that molds children's lives by
having an impact on their personality
development, educational achievement,
and failure [1]. Parenting style, on the
other hand, shows the emotional context
in which parents are raising their children
[2]. Furthermore, a parenting style is
made up of two key components: the
responsiveness and the demandingness of
the parent. These two components result
in a typology of four parenting styles:
indulgent, authoritarian, authoritative,
and uninvolved.
Parents that are indulgent appear to be
flexible and receptive to their kids. They
allow their kids to exercise significant
self-control and show compassion for
them by avoiding arguments [3]. The
authoritarian parents, on the other hand,
come out as demanding and directive
rather than receptive. They provide their
kids an environment that is too tight for
open communication. Children typically
report having little trust in and freedom
from their parents [4]. Such parents
appear to be status sensitive and want
their children to follow their instructions
without question [5]. They provide their
kids prepared and desired situations
where they are required to abide by their
regulations. Because it has a good impact
on Arabian children's mental health
compared to western liberal countries,
where the scenario would be the opposite,
an authoritarian parenting style is valued
in Arab society as opposed to western
civilizations [6]. According to [7], parental
engagement in a child's upbringing is
essential. According to [8], mother
engagement fosters and maintains
intrinsic drive for learning, and
encouragement moves children toward
mastery while fostering perseverance,
curiosity, and task orientation. Parents
who aren't participating seem

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uninterested in their kids' education.
They are extremely unresponsive and
demanding, which leads to parents that
are both inattentive and rejecting of their
children. However, all three parenting
philosophies, with the exception of
uninvolved, are used by the majority of
parents [4]. Children's self-esteem and
parenting practices are linked, and the
former is thought to have a big impact on
the latter. In light of this, this essay seeks
to examine how parenting practices affect
self-esteem.
Self-esteem is a general assessment or
review of one's own meanings. It may be
seen in "beliefs and emotions, including
feelings of despair, pride, and shame,
among others." Academic performance is
considered to be the heart of this factor,
which is claimed to be a key predictor of
an individual's success or failure in life. It
may be distinct in one particular way or
universal [9]. It prepares children for the
future by assisting them in dealing with
difficult circumstances and issues [10]. It
has a favorable relationship with people's
tasks and successes [11]. As opposed to
people with low self-esteem, those with
greater levels of self-esteem are often
driven to finish even a challenging
activity [12]. It has often been found that
people perform better when they are
happy within. As a result, having a
healthy sense of self-worth is essential for
inspiring people to work more, and in
youngsters, it has a significant impact on
how well they learn. Success gives people
hope for the future and alleviates
anxieties about life and death [13]. Self-
esteem was demonstrated to be a
significant predictor of academic
achievement by [14], who also
demonstrated that guys who joked
around with girls had lower levels of self-
esteem. The victimized girls were
negatively impacted by the boys' mocking
behavior as they had low self-esteem and
subpar academic results. [15] assert that
self-esteem is a more powerful predictor
of academic performance and that it is
particularly important for male students.
Parenting practices have a significant
impact on how well their kids perform
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academically. According to [16], parental
participation encourages children and
adolescents to study, which leads to
academic achievement. According to [17],
family relationships and the educational
environment have a higher influence on
students' academic performance,
motivation, and self-competence. It was
clear that having a strict, authoritarian
parenting style improved students'
academic achievement but decreased
their motivation, self-esteem, and social
skills. Less accomplishment was shown by
children raised by demanding and
responsive authoritative parenting styles
compared to students raised by
authoritarian parents. According to a
different study, parents' engagement
improved their kids' performance.
Numerous studies [18], have documented
the effects of educated parents on their
children's academic conduct at various
grade levels. According to [19] study, kids
performed better socially when their
parents had more social capital. [20] claim
that having a high sense of self boosts
good memories, which leads to greater
success. The findings indicated that
compared to their peers who had poor
self-esteem and bad memories, the girl
participants had greater levels of good
memories and self-esteem, which led to
increased social and academic efficiency.
High self-esteem makes it easier for
people to adopt and sustain habits in a
variety of settings that promote wellbeing
in later life. Compared to neglectful
parents, authoritative parents want their
kids to adjust and do better in school,
this approach helps pupils do better
academically. According to [21], children
who have greater levels of self-esteem are
better able to adapt to life in schools and
develop their personalities. Additionally,
there is a correlation between high self-
esteem and an authoritative parenting
style that encourages adolescents to
participate in more competent and
sociable activities. The kids who are
raised by permissive parents, however,
lack social skills and have low self-
esteem.
Abubakar
Parenting
Young children's primary human
interaction comes from their parents, and
these formative years are when they are
most impressionable. According to [22], a
child's core personality and self-esteem
are typically created within the first five
years of life. He continues by saying that
the family serves as both the foundation
for socialization and the child's early cues
of acceptance, love, and merit. Parents
typically strive to raise their children in
the greatest possible manner. Sometimes,
they are inspired by their own parenting
experiences as children or by advice from
parenting experts. In the 1940s, Speck
was one of the top experts on child
parenting, advocating a more indulgent or
lenient approach. However, by the 1960s,
he had altered his mind and advocated for
stricter discipline. As a result, ways to
raising children have swung from one
extreme to the other, from authority-
based parenting, in which parents
exercise entire control and are strict
disciplinarians, to child-centered
approaches, in which the wants and
whims of the kid come first. Recently, a
democratic or assertive parenting style
has gained popularity. Baumrind
Styles of parenting and self-esteem
There is no one optimal parenting
technique that applies to all cultures
because everyone has a different
upbringing and personality. Self-esteem
has been shown to be consistently
adversely connected in Western cultures
with parenting characterized by high
levels of overprotectiveness and low
levels of acceptance. This cold-hearted
control is a hallmark of authoritarianism,
and the parenting approach is assumed to
be linked to social awkwardness and poor
communication abilities. This parenting
approach may be preferred in traditional
collectivist societies (like Nigeria), and it
is not believed to have a detrimental
effect on self-esteem. [23], According to
research on Japanese college students,
authoritarian parenting styles that are
warm and loving may be universally
important for children's psychological
wellbeing in later life. The study's
findings also imply that bad parenting,
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conducted a great deal of parenting
research in the 1960s, and as a result of
her studies, she came up with the
concepts of the three parenting
philosophies of authoritarian,
authoritative, and permissive: a) The
authoritative approach, which combines
relatively hard management with
unwavering esteem for the kid and
acceptance of their behavior within
specified bounds. Using rigid rules that
the parents have established to mold the
behavior of the kid, imposing their will on
the child without any negotiation, and
thinking that the parent is always right
are examples of authoritarian parenting.
Parents that choose a permissive
approach are warm and give their kids a
lot of liberty while exercising minimal
control over them. Instead of being
actively involved in this process,
permissive parents let their kids create
their own behavior. Given that her
classification of parental behaviors is still
in use today and is widely recognized and
accepted, Baurnrind appears to have
established the standard. However, some
parents might not necessarily fit into
these styles.
such as lack of warmth and caring from
parents, is strongly linked to low levels of
life satisfaction and self-esteem, which
may result in poor psychological
wellbeing. According to research, children
who experience an authoritarian
parenting style are more likely to
experience anxiety, low self-esteem, and
depression. In line with this, [24] noted
that adolescents who receive authoritative
treatment develop more social maturity
and independence when compared to
their classmates.
Young individuals who experienced an
authoritative parenting style have
stronger social development and self-
esteem than children raised in other
parenting styles, according to [4]. In a
similar vein, authoritative parenting has
been repeatedly linked to favorable
cognitive, emotional, and social results,
according to [25]. On the other hand,
permissive parenting is linked to lack of
Abubakar www.iaajournals.org
self-control and social inadequacy. Which were adversely connected with self-
parenting approaches result in the esteem whereas authoritative and
highest levels of self-esteem vary. permissive emotional warmth positively
Children with indulgent parents had the correlated with better self-esteem.
highest levels of self-esteem, whereas According to [28], Nigerian parenting
those of authoritarian parents had the practices integrate all parenting
lowest levels, according to [26] research. philosophies since there is a strong focus
Both children of indulgent and on obedience and following rules set by
domineering parents had the highest parents. According to the researcher, this
levels of self-esteem, according to [26] was accompanied by communication
research. It is difficult to determine which between parties, affection, caring, and
parenting approach is the most effective response. The majority of parents want
in fostering the development of self- the best for their kids, but it's possible
esteem because of these variances in the that kids don't experience or view
results. Parenting practices that are caring parenting the way their parents do.
and helpful, according to [27], may help Therefore, rather than the actual
kids feel more confident. In terms of parenting style, children's impression
parenting styles, children who felt their may be more important to their wellbeing.
parents were too protective This suggests that an individual's
(authoritarian) experienced negative subjective assessment or impression of
consequences, whereas those who felt their parents' parenting style or pattern
their parents were caring (authoritative may have an impact on their self-esteem
and permissive) saw favorable effects on development to the extent and in the
their self-esteem. Additionally, [27] found manner in which they interpret the
that positive love, wrath, and rejection behavior.
CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION
Parenting styles significantly impact consistently negatively correlated with
children's and adolescents' development, parenting styles with low acceptance and
as the family is the primary socializing high protectiveness. Variations exist in
agency. Research has shown a strong link which parenting styles lead to the highest
between parenting styles and children's levels of self-esteem. However, education
mental, psychological, and emotional principles suggest that students need
development. Self-esteem, an assessment good academic self-esteem for success.
of one's self-worth, is influenced by School counselors should assist students
various parenting styles. There is no in fostering positive self-esteem, which
universally best parenting style, as can be enhanced by teaching good study
culture and individual characteristics habits and self-management skills.
vary. In Western cultures, self-esteem is
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CITE AS: Abubakar Tijjani T. (2023). An Evaluation of How Parenting Practices Affect
One's Self-Esteem. IAA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (IAA-JSS) 9(2):15-
20.https://doi.org/10.59298/IAAJSS/2023/1.3.11000

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